General Grievous of the First Order
by Sano Sauro
Summary: An Alternate Universe where General Grievous is General Hux. He is not resurrected from the Clone War era; in this universe, someone else led the separatist military. Nor was there a coup; General Hux simply never existed. This is only taking into account The Force Awakens (though that might change). (Bonus coming soon)
1. Chapter 1

Another red light flashed on the technician's panel, signaling yet another turbolaser battery destroyed by the errant fighter. From what the First Order technician could see, they were running low on options to destroy the escaping TIE fighter. He turned about quickly and called up to the catwalk to his commanding officer.

"Sir, they're destroying our turbolasers!"

General Grievous coughed into his hand. He tore his gaze away from the desert planet and turned his attention to the technician. The technician only had time to gulp before Grievous turned away again, this time towards the back of the bridge. He began pacing along the catwalk, away from the window. His metallic claws clacked against the floor, scratching its surface. He let out a small, robotic growl as he stalked up towards the officer in charge of the Resurgent's point-defense. As he reached him, he brought a finger up to him and snarled.

"Fool. Prepare our missiles. They are too slow to evade." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kylo Ren stalk onto the bridge in a rage but ignored him momentarily. "Flight commander, launch flights two and three." They wouldn't get away; he had too many assets at his disposal. Still, these humans were incompetent at best. Turbolasers were a foolish choice as the primary method of point-defense; that was a mistake for the Empire's era, not for theirs.

"General Grievous." A masked voice called to him. Grievous turned to look upon Kylo Ren. A mere pretender of eras past. From what Grievous could gather, Kylo would barely reach what was known as an "acolyte" of the ancient sith. He might be an assassin for the Emperor. Yet, in this age, he was the face of darkness. How the glories of the Sith had fallen into ruin. "Was it the Resistance pilot?" Grievous growled in response to this weak being.

"Yes. And… he had help. From one of our own." He stopped addressing Kylo directly, instead stalking towards the officer in charge of the registries to see if there were any updates. "We're checking the registers now for which stormtrooper it was." He slowed as he saw the officer shake his head slowly. His cape slowed with him, draping over his shoulders and covering him. In this momentary silence, he heard Kylo's masked voice drift towards him.

"The one from the village." Kylo muttered, causing Grievous to turn. "FN-2187." Had he had a mouth, he would have sneered. One of Kylo's finest had turned traitor? As he was about to mock Kylo, however, the officer in charge of point-defense shouted towards him.

"Sir. Missiles ready." Grievous snarled at the officer. He had to do everything around here. Everything required confirmation. The Kaleesh were better than these humans. He turned away from both Kylo and the officer, instead staring out the window on the bridge, before shouting.

"Lock!" He balled his fist cruelly, and when he heard confirmation of a lock, he commanded the missiles be fired. He began to laugh a laugh that broke off into a cough.


	2. Chapter 2

"This was his first offense." The chrome stormtrooper said, voice tinted with shame and determination. His handpicked officer was clearly upset at her failure and would not allow it again. At the same time, this defensive attitude would never do. Before he could correct her disposition, however, his sensor officer called for his attention.

"General." She sounded calm and collected as an alarm went off. "They've been hit." She didn't shout the news. She wasn't prioritizing getting credit for the news, nor was she being unprofessional about the announcement. He was glad at least some of his officers were focused on their jobs. He clacked towards her quickly, cape billowing behind him, anxious for details.

"Destroyed?"

"Disabled. They were headed back to Jakku. The fighter is projected to crash in the Goazon Badlands." So this officer had been proactive and had not needed him to micromanage every action she made. Grievous was glad she had run through all the simulations beforehand before calling him over, and expressed that.

"Good work." The rare compliment brought a flicker of a smile to her face before she caught herself and resumed her duties. "They were going back for the droid." He said this to no one in particular, but then turned to speak with the chrome stormtrooper. "Send a squad to the wreckage." She nodded and marched off the bridge, anxious to redeem herself.


	3. Chapter 3

Grievous and Kylo walked away together from the window on the bridge. Grievous was crouched, so though he would normally tower above him, he had to look up just slightly to make eye contact with the masked man. His feet tapped against the metal in time with Kylo's footfalls as he turned his head towards him in anger.

"I won't have you _question_ my methods." He could have hurled any number of insults at the boy, but it wouldn't do to have the bridge crew see him reduced to Kylo's level of petty squabbling. Kylo continued walking and didn't face Grievous as he spoke.

"You are obviously skilled at committing high treason." Grievous snarled and began walking faster than Kylo. "Perhaps leader Snoke should consider using a clone army." Grievous cut Kylo off and stepped in front of him. Clones were inferior; they had been used during the era of the Republic. Ren wasn't even alive when the Emperor replaced Clones with Stormtroopers.

"FN-2187 was under _your_ command, Ren. My men are exceptionally trained, programmed from birth. They do not require any…" If he could, he would have spat, so instead he paused. "… _growth_ acceleration." Kylo didn't budge.

"Then they should have no problem retrieving the droid." Kylo was fuming behind the mask. Grievous knew that his men wouldn't have any problems, unless something unexpected occurred, but Kylo wasn't finished. He had simply paused. "Unharmed."

This wasn't exactly what Snoke had ordered. Snoke had demanded that the Resistance not get their hands on the map; retrieving the droid and the map would be a far cry from destroying it and the map. Grievous spoke in a more mocking tone.

"Careful, Ren, that your _personal_ interests don't interfere with orders from leader Snoke." He was toying with Kylo and Kylo could tell. He didn't appreciate it. He began inching towards Grievous threateningly.

"I want. That. Map." Kylo said this slowly. "For your sake? I suggest you get it." Kylo was threatening him, openly. Grievous began to laugh at the prospect, and this infuriated Kylo. He stalked past Grievous to leave the bridge. Grievous looked after him, still laughing, until he coughed.


	4. Chapter 4

"The droid will soon be delivered to the Resistance, leading them to the last Jedi. If Skywalker returns, the New Jedi will rise." Supreme Leader Snoke's hologram towered over both General Grievous and Kylo Ren. It was a facade to make him more intimidating, though he was intimidating enough already. Both had their heads bowed, but at this, Grievous looked up.

"Supreme Leader, I take full responsibility-"

"General!" Snoke interrupted him with a shout that reverberated around the darkened chambers. Grievous went silent. He had been about to recount how he had been at fault for allowing them to escape the system, though the fault of everything else lay at the feet of other, unnamed parties. Snoke, knowing exactly what Grievous had been about to do, cut him off. He inhaled deeply before speaking again, giving off an air of indecision.

"Our strategy… must now change." He was not panicking, but he was clearly annoyed. There were fewer options, compared with before, and none as ideal. However, Grievous had already thought of a plausible one.

"The weapon. It is ready." He said this with a wave of his clawed hand, as if the state of affairs aboard the planet-sized planet-killing superweapon was of no real consequence. "I believe the time has come to use it." Kylo turned his head slowly towards Grievous. Grievous had offered a solution Kylo could not offer, and it would be a larger spectacle than any he could give. "We shall _destroy_ the government that supports the Resistance… the _Republic._ " He would have smiled knowingly if he could. He could not, so he simply paused to give emphasis. Snoke surely would not resist. "Without their friends to _protect_ them the Resistance will be _vulnerable_ , and we will stop them _before_ they reach _Skywalker._ " All the First Order's goals could be achieved in one masterstroke. Of course, Grievous didn't care as much for Snoke's goals as for the destruction it would cause. Snoke's response was quick.

"Go. Oversee preparations." Grievous didn't laugh, though he wanted to. He simply kept his tone jovial.

"Yes, Supreme Leader." He turned slowly to look at Kylo. Grievous's fingers were drumming against each other slowly. Kylo turned back to look at him, and after a moment of staring at each other, Grievous turned away and stomped out of the throne room. He heard Snoke speaking to Kylo, but its subject was none of his concern. When he closed the door behind him, he broke into a laugh.


	5. Chapter 5

General Grievous's cape was draped over his hunched form. As the wind blew on the icy planet, his cape outlined his form clearly on one side and flapped in the air currents on the other. He was elevated above an enormous, open ampitheater filled with First Order stormtroopers, technicians, officers, pilots, and more. They were in parade formation, standing at attention, waiting for him to speak.

" _Today_ is the _end_ of the _Republic._ " Ironically enough, this was actually the second time the Republic had ended. "The _end_ of a… _regime_ that breeds disorder. At this very _moment_ in a system far from here, the New Republic _lies_ to the _galaxy_ while secretly supporting the _treachery_ of the Resistance." He coughed in anger. Without bothering to cover his mouth to hide this, as he usually did, he continued. "This fierce machine which you have built, upon which we stand, will bring an _end_ to the senate. To their _cherished_ fleet. All remaining systems will _bow_ to the First Order. They will _remember_ this as the _last day_ of the _Republic._ " Grievous had not shouted. Keeping his voice calm projected his mechanical menace much better than shouting could. Indeed, he almost seemed to be mocking the New Republic, daring them to strike him down on the podium. There was a pause before the soldiers before him raised their left fists into the sky. He began to laugh as he slowly rose to his full height and brought his fist up towards the weapon. _"Fire!"_ His audience turned away from him and towards the cannon.

It took a few moments for the cannon to fire, but soon enough, there was a red pillar of fire spearing up into the atmosphere. Grievous stared up at it as he brought his fist back down to his side. Slowly, however, he returned to his crouched form and slid his hands behind his back and beneath his cloak. He didn't see any point in staying here; he would only learn if they had been successful once he entered the control room. He stepped off the podium and stomped back towards the control center.


	6. Chapter 6

"And the _droid!?_ " Snoke demanded. His frustration with Kylo was clear; if he could not tap into the mind of a scavenger, then what good was he? Before Kylo could respond, Grievous spoke up.

"Ren believed it was no longer _valuable_ to us." He said as he strode forward confidently. Kylo had chosen, foolishly, to take the girl instead of the droid. The droid which had held the map. The droid now in the possession of the Resistance. As he neared, he noticed Kylo look towards him and then look away in apparent shame. Grievous continued speaking as he strode forward.

"That the _girl_ … was _all_ we needed." As he said this, he stepped up the small platform before Snoke's hologram and next to Ren. He was staring up at Snoke and addressing him, though it was clear to everyone present that he was savoring this admonishment.

"As a result, the droid has _most likely_ been _returned_ to the hands of the enemy. They may have the map _already._ " Snoke began to calculate the best solution. It was the most straightforward one.

"Then the Resistance must be destroyed before they get to Skywalker." Of course, there was no way to do that. They didn't even have the location of the Resistance's base. Well, that was false; Grievous did.

"We have their location." He said calmingly. He brought his hand out from behind his back and made a motion to dismiss it as though it were nothing. "We tracked their reconnaissance ship to the _Ileenium_ System." Grievous brought his hand back underneath his cloak. Snoke exhaled slowly.

"Good." He growled, slowly settling down. "Then we will crush them once and for all. Prepare the weapon." Grievous bowed quickly and turned about. As he strode out of the room, he heard Kylo plead to Snoke for another chance. Everything was working out perfectly.


End file.
